Prayers of the Church,

6^th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A, May 14, 2023 (Also Mother’s Day)

Acts 17:16-31 (Paul in Athens: What you worship as unknown, I proclaim to you)

            (ELW: Acts 17:22-31)

Psalm 66:8-20 (God has tested, delivered us; we will offer sacrifices and extol him)

1 Peter 3:13-22 (Give account of hope with gentleness; suffer for doing good, like Christ. Baptism an appeal to God for good conscience, through Christ’s resurrection and exaltation)

John 14:15-21 (If you love me, keep my commandments; the Father will send you the Spirit)

Let us pray to our risen Savior on behalf of the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Thank you, Jesus, for your faithful servants who have openly proclaimed the greatest mystery: that you are true God and true man, crucified and Raised from the dead for the forgiveness of sin unto eternal life. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to teach, comfort and guide us in your Way forever.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Lord, grant that your Church always adores and proclaims you as the Redeemer of the world. Fill it with your Spirit. Equip it to defend the faith, even to nay-sayers, with gentleness and respect. Kindle such love for you that it beautifully keeps your commandments and draws many to faith in you.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Come quickly to help your persecuted disciples throughout the world. Fill them with faith, hope and charity. Let those who revile their hope in you be put to shame.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Give a double portion of your Spirit to missionaries, evangelists, and theologians. Raise up a new generation of pastors and other faithful witnesses to the Gospel. Give wisdom to all who teach the faith to the next generation of believers. Bless all they do that glorifies your name.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Give the members of this congregation the keen eye and quick wit of St. Paul, who proclaimed your Gospel to skeptical Greek philosophers. Though we may speak more simply, help us to relate to people around us with words and stories that help them draw closer to you. Help us to share the hope that is in us, and the love you bear for them.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bless all mothers, and everyone who acts with a mother’s care. Grant wisdom, a firm yet gentle hand, infinite patience, and plenty of sleep. Comfort those whose child is estranged, suffering, or deceased. Forgive and give new hope to women who have had an abortion for any reason. Shower your mercy on those who long to have children but cannot, who have miscarried, and upon all who grieve the loss of their own mothers. Give all of us grace to rightly honor them.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

The nations do not know you, dear Lord. They suffer because they are starving for your Word of life, truth, and salvation. Bestow your Spirit on the world, so that our leaders seek to obey your Father’s will. Let all who blindly serve “an unknown god” learn to love and serve you, their Redeemer and Lord. Teach all of us to walk in your pathways of life and truth.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Deal gently with all who are afflicted by pain, confusion, sorrow, remorse, or despair, including: {List}. Heal every hurt they have sustained. Bring them into a place of refreshment, health, and hope. By your gracious Spirit, give compassion and patience to all who care for them.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Most holy Savior, we bless and adore you. We commend to your care our beloved dead. Do not leave us as orphans, grieving as those who have no hope. Draw close to us and keep us in your care. Fill us with your Spirit. Make us abound in faith and good works. Help us to share these gifts with gentleness and respect. Gather us with all your saints into your arms. Lead us into the life, light, and love you share with your Father and the Holy Spirit forever.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

We praise and magnify you, dear Jesus. Accept our prayers and lay them at the feet of your Father, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns gloriously as our Lord and our God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayers of the Church, A, May 7, 2023, 5^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60 (Deacons, including Stephen, are chosen; excerpts from Stephen’s speech; the stoning of Stephen)

            (ELW: Acts 7:55-60, The stoning of Stephen)

Psalm 146 (Happy are they whose help is from the Lord, who executes justice for the poor)

            (ELW: Psalm 31: 1-5,15-16, Prayer for deliverance from enemies)

1 Peter 2:2-10 (Come to Christ, the living Stone who will cause many to stumble;

            but you are his own people, a royal priesthood)

John 14:1-14 (I am the Way, Truth and Life; believe that the Father is in me and I am in him)

Let us pray to our risen Savior on behalf of the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Thank you, Jesus, for being the Way to your Father’s house, the Truth that sets us free, and the Life which raises us out of sin and death. Thank you for being the Love that never lets us go. Give us grace to share your love with everyone we meet, especially those who have lost their way, strayed from the truth, and are haunted by death.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Make the whole Church your house of living stones: holy, precious, your prized possession and beloved Body. Let its words and deeds proclaim the excellence of your salvation. Use it to call many people out of darkness into your marvelous light.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Like Stephen, there are many even today who are persecuted and tortured for proclaiming you as Lord. Give them the grace and strength that you gave Stephen: to fearlessly speak your truth in love; to forgive and pray for their enemies; and to remain faithful to the end.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Lord, we want to be your disciples! But we’re afraid of ridicule, rejection, or persecution. Give us grace to be like Stephen, always praying for others to repent and believe in you. Let us always build up faith in you alone, our Head and Cornerstone.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Thank you for everyone in this congregation who supports the ministry of Word and Sacrament through their faithful work. Fill them with your Holy Spirit. Prosper all they do to share the Gospel. Give them joy in serving you and your people.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Lord, there are so many who have lost their way in life. There are so many who insist there’s no such thing as real truth. There are so many who are dying without knowing your love. Please help us to notice them, to walk with them, and to find ways of slipping their hand into yours.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Remind the rulers of the nations that you alone are King of the nations. Teach them to use their authority and power to care for the poor and needy, to do justice and love mercy; and to walk humbly before you. Frustrate the way of the wicked. Make us all beautiful with your righteousness and compassion.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Guide, protect, and strengthen all who defend life and liberty here and abroad. May they always walk in pathways of integrity and justice. When they are wounded, bring healing, hope, and peace to them and to their loved ones. When their task is done, bring them home in honor.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bless, heal, comfort, and sustain everyone who cries out to you for help, including: {List}. With the Psalmist, cause them to say, “Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help; whose hope is in the LORD their God; who keeps his promise forever.”

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, we hear your promise at funerals: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”  Therefore we entrust into your keeping our beloved dead. Give us grace to believe your promise. Help us grow in holiness. Strengthen us in compassion and service. Be for us, and for all whom you love, the Way to your Father’s house; the Truth which sets us free from bondage to sin, evil and death; and the Life which eternally transforms us into your likeness.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

We praise and magnify you, dear Jesus. Accept our prayers and lay them at the feet of your Father, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns gloriously as our Lord and our God, now and forever. Amen.

“When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand” (Revelation 6:5).

Judgement is built into creation.  It is not that the Lord waits to pour out a special dispensation, but that when one sins, recompense will come.  The recompense of sin is sloppy.  The seemingly innocent are stricken by their own sins or the wanton acts of another.  But who is truly innocent? And how does one dismiss the promise of the Lord that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord?

Lord, I think in terms of how I see things.  I forget that You are Lord of all.  Guide me, dear Lord, to live according to Your never-failing goodness so that I see things through Your eyes.  Bad things are going to happen in this world.  We will all pay the price for sin, but You have paid the price to free us from sin’s sentence of death.  Help me to learn how to be faithful above all things.  Guide me in Your goodness to know and trust that Your will shall be done.

Lord, I know that You will judge me.  Even though I am under Your grace, You love me enough to hold me accountable for how I act.  Let that be before my mind so that no matter what comes, I know that Your grace is a gift and that anything that happens in this age will be used to grow in me what You intend.  Help me to not slip back into conditional thinking, but live knowing that all things are in Your hands.  Amen.

“Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword” (Revelation 6:4).

Jesus told us that there would be wars and rumors of wars.  War has continued and accelerated since ancient times.  Most of the time there is a war going on somewhere in the world.  People want and so they take.  People have and they fight to keep.  Each century seems to get bloodier and more violent.  And we blame God for not stopping our violence?  We are offered peace, but violence is often our answer.

Lord, I too know how to be violent.  Guide me, Lord, in the way of peace.  Teach me how to resist that which causes violence.  Teach me how to become one who lives peacefully, loving my neighbor as myself.  Guide me in the way of eternity knowing that this age is going to continue to accelerate in war and violence.  We have spent generations entertaining ourselves with violence.  Guide me away from this world’s nonsense.

Lord Jesus, You came as a man of peace and now give the peace which surpasses all understanding.  Lead me away from the ways of this world and into Your presence.  Teach me how to live peacefully amidst the violence of this world.  I know these episodes of violence must come to pass but help me be attached to You and not to this crazy world.  Even when war and violence are all around me, help me to be a person of peace, for “blessed are the peacemakers”.  Amen.

“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”  (Revelation 6:3)

The Lord is continuously inviting us to come and follow Him.  We wander.  We go the way of the world.  We lose interest and do not faithfully follow the way of the Lord.  Come into His presence and stay where the Lord would have you abide.  Be guided by His goodness and mercy and know that the Lord is Lord of all, and His invitation is not a suggestion.  Come, learn what this means to and for you.

Lord, I am so conditional and want things the way I want them.  Help me to understand that everything is in Your hands and that apart from You there is nothing of value.  If something bad happens to me in this life, what is that?  I have the promise of eternity.  Is this not why Saint Paul wrote,“ to live is Christ and to die is gain”?  It is not a death wish, just the reality of this age.  Help me to live in the real world.

Lord, strengthen the resolve of my faith.  Do not let me be enticed by the wiles of this age, nor fall for the temptations that are common.  Guide me through the maze of nonsense in this world so that I may learn how to be steadfast in faith no matter what comes.  Lead me in Your goodness and grace to see more clearly each day the hope and promise that You give me.  Guide me now and always, dear Savior.  Amen.

“I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest” (Revelation 6:2).

In this world, one bent on conquest follows another.  There seems to be a never-ending stream of those who want to rule the world.  The amazing thing is that people fall for this over and over again.  The lure for power is great.  All power belongs to the Lord, so the sooner you understand that, the sooner lust for power will leave you.  You have no power except through accepting the call to become a child of God. What do you have that you did not receive?

Lord, You know how often I fall for this snare.  Many around me vie for power.  It is a silly pursuit, for when we die, anything we once had passes from us.  Lead me away from this wicked pursuit to live according to Your never-failing principles.  Help me to follow You wherever You lead so that I may pursue what is right and good.  Guide me, Lord, now and forever.

Lord Jesus, You are the Sovereign One who has come to lead the way.  You are not coming to conquer, for You have already conquered.  Guide me now and always in truth so that I will not waste my time on meaningless pursuits.  Help me learn how to be Your disciple, trusting You in and for all things.  Lead me in the upward calling of the faith You have given me and grow me to be like You.  Amen.

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” (Revelation 6:1)

What unfolds in time the Lord already knows.  He invented time.  He knows the end from the beginning.  But we are given the ability to see and that means slowing everything down so that we can see.  Will you receive the gift of sight?  Will you see that the Lord is Lord of all?  Many stand in the presence of the light and see darkness.  You have been given the gift of sight.  As many as see the light, to them He gives the power to become children of God.

We are called to follow Jesus.  Many are called, but few are they who walk the path of being a disciple.  The first thing Jesus said to you was, “Come.”  In this scene of heaven, the living creatures are saying, “Come.”  Will you come and follow the Lord?  When this scene is played out in your presence then, it will be too late.  The Lord is bidding you come now and follow Him into real life.

Lord, You have called me through the water of my baptism.  You came humbly in order that I may become like You and be a child of God.  You have come.  The question is, will I follow You?  Help me in all my doubts, fears, and unbelief to come and follow You now and forever.  Guide me in the goodness of the gift of new life that You have given me.  Lead me, Lord, and help me to follow You now and evermore.  Amen.

“And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped” (Revelation 5:14).

The Lord has made each creature according to its own kind.  It shall be as the Lord has purposed.  How is it then that we ask Him so many questions?  Why are we so discontented that we do not look to the author of our existence and respond with praise and thanks?  This is the rebellion that will be crushed.  He has called us to reality where we praise Him from whom all blessings flow.  Come then and live into the life for which you were created.

Lord, I do not understand the rebellion within me, nor the reason why I want to be control.  Help me to learn from You how to be content with who You have made me to be.  Help me by Your goodness to know that in You is hope and an eternal future.  Lead me, Lord, and I will follow.  Guide me Lord and I will learn from You.  Let me join the four living creatures in saying, “Amen,” and again, I will say, “Amen.”

Heavenly Father, You are worthy of all the praise and honor within me.  Lead me this day to rejoice in all that You have done, are doing, and will do knowing that You will accomplish all that You have purposed.  Holy Spirit, stir my heart to be in constant worship and praise of the goodness of what has been done.  Lord Jesus, may I give You thanks and praise for the salvation You have accomplished by Your own shed blood.  Amen.

“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 5:13).

It is about the Lord.  We have been given awareness and the ability to deny reality and think it is about us, but it is always about the Lord.  All of creation centers in the One who made it.  Who knows, but could it be that the whole of what we call matter and energy was created for the express purpose of singing praise to the Lord?  There are the many who are in rebellion.  They seek their own.  Where are you?  Are you amongst those who bless the Lord, or those who curse their fate?

Lord, I have been called by You to come into Your presence and live as one who has been created by You.  Not only that, but You have redeemed me as Your reborn disciple to walk on the journey of becoming like You.  Lord, I know the rebellion, for it is in my heart.  Guide me to walk according to Your ways and know the goodness of Your grace and mercy.  Lead me toward You, the Creator of all things.

Lord, teach me to join Your creation singing Your praises.  You are worthy of all the honor and praise within me.  You are the One who created me.  Lead me in praise and worship.  Lead me away from rebellion and seeking things for myself.  In all things, guide me according to the purpose for which I have been created.  Lead me, Lord, and grant me a willing heart that will follow You to the end and beyond.  Amen.

“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,  saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Revelation 5:11-12)

The congregation sings hymns, psalms and spiritual songs.  Whether it be angels in heaven, or the faithful on earth, we are to praise and thank the Lord for all that He has done.  The Lord is worthy not just because of who He is – He is God in the flesh – but also for what He has done.  His actions speak for themselves.  “Worthy is the Lamb,” the One who took your sins and mine so that we could join in singing praises. Thanks be to God!

Lord, in matters of faith, I often approach these things the way the world approaches things.  What am I going to get out of it?  But You have already given me what I need.  You gave it to me before I could ask.  Lead me to learn how to respond the way heaven responds: with praise and thanksgiving.  Guide me in the upward way of living so that I may joyfully live into this life of faith You have given me.

Lord Jesus, I should be praising You, but often I come to You asking for things.  Guide me, Lord, so that I may come more often praising and less often asking.  You are the worthy Savior of my soul.  Thank You for all that You have done for all who will come through grace into Your glorious and eternal presence.  May I praise You all day long with thanksgiving and Psalms of praise.  Amen.